Scanning electron-microscope observations of the perikaryal projections of rabbit spinal ganglion neurons after enzymatic removal of connective tissue and satellite cells.

The true surface of rabbit spinal ganglion neurons has been made directly accessible to scanning electron-microscope observation after removal of both the connective tissue and satellite cells that normally cover it. The neuronal surface is characterized by a profusion of slender projections whose shapes have been determined and whose length and width have been quantified. Controls carried out with transmission electron microscopy demonstrate that the procedure employed in this study satisfactorily preserves neuronal structure.